LV - SF - LA 15 day itinerary help
 

Hi!

I would like your help with creating an itinerary for out trip (we will be 2 travelling).

We land in Las Vegas on 16.4. in the evening and fly out of LA on the 2. MAy in the afternoon.
so we have 15 full days and half a day on our way back
Because of road closures, we will fly from LV to SF.
We plan to rent a car in SF and drive to LA.

My question is, how to best allocate the days to see as much as possible?

Ideally, we would like to see/visit
LV: 1 day in the city
Grand Canyon & Hoover Dam
Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bent
Valley of Fire
Monument Valley
Death Valley

How many days would you suggest? 5? 7?

then Fly to SF

SF - planning to see Alcatraz
muir woods to see the redwoods
lombard street
pier 39
langdon court/golden gate overlook
1 day trip to Yosemite and back

How many days in SF? 3?

then down the coast? sleep once in Santa monica or santa barbara? and where else? 2

and 2 days LA?
Not planning to go at Universal or anything, only to see the walk of fame and maybe Hollywood sign.
There was even an idea to visit Joshua tree as a day trip from LA but I guess this is not doable.

Thank you so much for any input! I know the itinerary will be packed but that is ok...
we would prefer that is packed in Vegas and then more relaxed in LA.

Welcome to Fodors. Just very quick right now . . . and only random comments re the San Francisco leg:

• No - 3 days would not be enough time for all that.

• I would not try to squeeze in Muir Woods - especially on a such a short visit. Besides having to pre-book a slot, there is a better/less crowded park you could visit on your drive down the coast at Henry Cowell state park in the Santa Cruz mountains

• A day trip to Yosemite is really difficult - it is a minimum 4.5 hour drive from San Francisco and often longer due to heavy traffic in the Bay Area. It would be MUCH better if you added a day/night in northern California and spent one night in El Portal (there is a nice motel less then 15 minutes from the park entry gate.

I'd do Las Vegas, SF, Yosemite, Monterey (or Carmel), Pismo Beach or Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, LA. Drop all the other stuff and save it for another trip. You are grossly underestimating how long it takes to drive and how far apart many of these places are.
Hint: You may pay less of a oneway dropoff fee for the rental car if you drive south to north, LA to SF, instead of vice versa.
You can see the Hollywood sign from many places including Griffith Observatory and the shopping center roof at Hollywood and Highland and can be combined with the Walk of Fame (which takes 10 minutes to an hour, max, prepare to be underwhelmed).
I've never been to Alcatraz in many trips to SF, and do not feel I have missed anything but it is popular with tourists.

Thank you so much!

We wanted to do a road trip from LV to SF, stop at Yosemite, but we heard that the roads are closed so now we are looking for other options (if there are any).
Can we fly there from LV?

Do we also have to prebook Henry Cowell state park in the Santa Cruz mountains

Thank you :)

It is true the distances on a map are different than in real life :/
We are more interested to see the nature around LV than Vegas itself and we do know that Grand Canyon is the furthest one out.
Here is also question if it would be better to;
A: do a day trips from Vegas and rent a car
B: do a day trips but with a tour agency (so there is not much driving)
C: rent a car and do a circle to see the parks and spend 1-2 days in Vegas.

How many days would you suggest for each city?

We can not drive south to north, because we fly out of Los Angeles (our flights are already booked).

Thank you

I assume you'll rent a car in Las Vegas and hit the road.

You need to check the drive times between the points you mention as I get the sense you don't know how large an area you're wanting to see. Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire are both easy excursions from L.V., and Death Valley from L.V. is probably 5 hours round-trip (that's just the drive). Everything else you mention is hours away, and there is a lot to see beyond those particular sights... Zion National Park, Marble Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs. You could easily spend 10-14 days in this part of the U.S.

If you have 15 days, I'd skip Yosemite, L.A. and most of the drive down the coast... I'd only go as far south as Big Sur. Otherwise, I think you really need 3 weeks.

Thank you!
That is another question that we have in mind.

Yeah, there are so many parks to see and we know we can not fit all of them in but those are on the top of the list.
I was reading this forum and other blogs and graduated from google maps, but being there and looking at the distance on map is different.

We are more interested to see the nature around LV than Vegas itself and we do know that Grand Canyon is the furthest one out.
Here is also question if it would be better to;
A: do a day trips from Vegas and rent a car
B: do a day trips but with a tour agency (so there is not much driving)
C: rent a car and do a circle to see the parks and spend 1-2 days in Vegas.

We are only able to get 15 days of our annual leave :/ and I know there is a lot to see down the pacific highway, but we have to get to LA (flight out is from there).

The Grand Canyon is not the farthest one from Las Vegas. That would be Monument Valley which is 7+ hours from Las Vegas.

Even if you could find a tour that would take you to everything on your list, you'd still be spending many, many hours sitting in a bus or van. I would rather drive myself and go where I want to go,

If you can't change your flight out of L.A., consider dropping San Francisco. Fly into Las Vegas and out of L.A. You can fly or drive from Las Vegas to L.A.

"We wanted to do a road trip from LV to SF, stop at Yosemite, but we heard that the roads are closed so now we are looking for other options (if there are any).
Can we fly there from LV?"

Only one road to Yosemite is closed -- the part of Hwy 120 that crosses Tioga Pass. All roads into Yosemite from the west side are open. You actually can fly from Las Vegas to Fresno which is by far the nearest airport to Yosemite (otherwise it is a loooong mostly boring drive from Vegas through Bakersfield and north to Yosemite.

April/May is absolutely the best time of year in Yosemite Valley so you could easily fit it

"Do we also have to prebook Henry Cowell state park in the Santa Cruz mountains"

No.

One option with 15 days would be to spend 5 or 6-ish days in and around Las Vegas. This would Include a day coach tour to the Grand Canyon and visiting Zion (you could stay in Springdale one night) plus places like Red Rock Canyon. Then fly to FAT (Fresno) and drive up to to the park by the route highway 41 > 49 > 140. This is about a 1 hour longer drive but is a lower elevation road with less chance of snow/ice. Stay in El Portal 2 nights as a base for Yosemite Valley.

Then drive across the state towards Santa Cruz, visit Henry Cowell and then proceed around Monterey Bay to the Carmel/Pacific Grove area -- this would be a total approx 4.5 hour drive. Stay 2 nights in Carmel area. Then drive south through Big Sur and stay in Cambria/Morro Bay/Pismo Beach area.

That brings you to 10 nights and so you can decide if you want to spend a night or two in Santa Barbara or all the rest in the LA area.

This misses out on San Francisco but does cover a couple of the magical Ariz/Utah parks, Yosemite, redwoods (which you will also see in the Big Sur area), the truly gobsmacking Big Sur Coast, a laid back coastal town like Morro Bay, Santa Barbara and its Mission and several days in LA.

I would skip Yosemite and San Francisco. Concentrate on Vegas and LA. Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon are a must but don't skip out on the many amazing things in Vegas. The Fountains at Bellagio, Eiffel Tower at Paris, The Venetian( they nailed the recreation of it) and the food!!

LA has great restaurants too. Of course there's Venice Beach and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

If you get into Vegas early enough, rent a car and plan on driving towards Grand Canyon and spend the night on the way. We have spent the night at Hoover Dam Lodge Casino which is on rt. 89 just before the dam. You could go farther and stop along I 40 also. You then could tour the dam either before you visit Grand Canyon or on the way back. Spend a night in Grand Canyon , if they say they are full, keep the phone number and call back every day for a cancellation.

on your way back to Vegas take the road from 89 a short way past the dam casino that goes along Lake Meade to the east entrance for Valley of Fire. Exit from VoF at the west end of the park and continue west to I15 and back south to Vegas or north to Zion.

I agree. Stay at Hoover Dam Lodge casino and see Hoover Dam before checking in. Visit the south rim of Grand Canyon and stay overnight if you can. On the way back to Las Vegas, take the shortcut oldemalloy suggests to get to Valley of Fire. Monument Valley is a little too far afield from LV IMO.
You can visit Joshua Tree (or Mojave National Preserve) on the way from Las Vegas to the Los Angeles area. You other option would be to take the short flight from Las Vegas over to Fresno and rent a car to go into Yosemite through the south entrance. If the objective is to see large trees, check out the Mariposa grove in the south end of Yosemite (skipping Muir Woods).
Save San Francisco for another trip. Another way to get from San Francisco to LA other than driving or flying is to take the Amtrak Coast Starlight (bus from San Francisco to Emeryville). The Coast Starlight arrives in Los Angeles Union Station about 9PM every night. You could get off in Santa Barbara about 6 PM and spend a night there and take a Pacific Surfliner train the next day.

Thank you all so much!

We will skip and the Yosemite but will stay in LV for 8 days.

Like I said, our priority is to see the Nature around LV.

The brief of our itinerary looks something like this;

16.4. Landing in LV at 8PM (Should we stay close to the airport and rent a car the next day?)
17.4. LV - Valley of Fire (1h, 45miles) - Zion (2,5h, 130 miles) - Bryce (2h, 85 milj) we would sleep somewhere close to Bryce. Suggestions?
18.4. Bryce kanjon - Page (2,5h, 151 milj); Antelope Canyon, horseshoe bend, Page Sleep in Page We plan to see the horseshoe bend at sunset. What would be the best option to stay the night? Page, drive to Monument Valley?
19.4. Page - Monument Valley (2h, 120 milj) - Cameron (3h, 172 milj) Ideally we would like to be at Monument Valley around 8-9am. Early start is not a problem. Q here is, would it make sense to also visit Mexican hat and Goosenecks? We would like to sleep as close as possible to the Grand Canyon. Would Cameron be good idea?
20.4. Cameron - Grand Canyon (1,5h, 75 milj) - Williams (1h, 65milj) night at Williams
21.4. Williams - route 66 - Hoover Dam (3h, 190 milj) - LV (1h, 50 milj) night somewhere around Vegas or in LV
22.4. LV - Death Valley - LV (5h, 280milj) night in LV
23.4. Las vegas & NIGHT OUT LV
24.4. Las Vegas

25.4. LV - SF morning flight SF; SF, Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz & Chinatown
26.4. SF Golden Gate Bridge & Golden Gate Park; Lombard Street, Painted Ladies
Is it better to travel in SF by public transport and rent a car when we plan to go down to LA? or before?

27.4. SF - Henry Cowel (1.5h) - Monterey (1h) - Carmel-by-the-Sea (15min)
28.4. CBS - Big Sur (2h+) - Hearst Castle - Morro Bay
29.4. Morro Bay - Pismo beach - Santa Barbara
30.4. Santa Barbara - Venice Beach (2h, 85 milj)
1.5. ??? LA or longer stop before
2.5. morning in LA; walk of fame, holywood sign, FLY out at 5:30pm

It is packed but :) but I am going to be tourist there so I want to see as much as possible.
Would be american National Pass worth it for this trip?

Cameron, Tuba City and Monument Valley have very limited lodging places. Maybe Flagstaff and then leave early to go to Monument Valley. If you want to be a tourist you can also visit Winslow AZ and take a picture standin' on the Corner with a statue of Glenn Frey. You can decide if you want to get the annual National Parks pass when you get to the entrance of Yosemite or Bryce or just pay the daily admission. Death Valley does not charge admission.
The other thing that you might want to see in the LV area is Red Rocks west of the city.

(is the) American National Pass worth it?

Yes if you visit 3 or more parks. Grand Canyon is $35.

I am all for packing in a lot of sites, but your updated itinerary is not realistic. I was going to suggest cutting out the Arizona part, but as that is your main focus (and now you have added parks in Utah!) then I suggest you cut out most of California except the LA area. Also: you are treating American national parks like the ones in Croatia or Turkey, they can be huge and more than just a parking lot with a view, a 2 hour stop including all the hikes. Sixt Rental cars does not add a one way fee between Las Vegas and California, a Sentra is $700/week plus insurance.

The California days are not realistic. You point out drive times but not how much time you expect to spend at particular sights, so I don't think you have a good picture of what those days would be like. How much time at Henry Cowell? The Aquarium? Carmel? Big Sur? Will you stop at the Elephant Seal Rookery near San Simeon? After all the beautiful coastline you will have seen, is there a particular reason to stop at Pismo?

And I suspect you've used google maps for the drive time estimates. These are calculations made by a computer mostly based on posted speed limits, but the drives IRL will take longer. Add 20-25% to the estimates, especially as you're leaving SF and as you get closer to LA. Don't forget to account for time needed to rent and return the car.

As of today, Hearst Castle is still not open. If it opens before your trip, you'll need to decide which tour or tours you want to take and organize your day around the timed departures. It may not be possible to drive from Carmel, see a little of Big Sur, have lunch somewhere, stop to view the Elephant Seals, tour Hearst Castle and comfortably reach Morro Bay all in one day.

I'll go further than tom_mn and suggest you skip California entirely. Fly in and out of Las Vegas. Plan another trip to see California.

Just this since I don't want to pile on (much ;) ). . . once you fly out of Las Vegas the itinerary does fall apart a bit. None of your drive times are realistic. (GoogleMap is a crime against humanity :) -- it leads visitors to think this sort of plan is doable)

Just look at this part:

27.4. SF - Henry Cowel (1.5h) - Monterey (1h) - Carmel-by-the-Sea (15min)
28.4. CBS - Big Sur (2h+) - Hearst Castle - Morro Bay

On a weekday morning you might make it to HCRSP in 2 hours hours but much longer is possible due to commute traffic. Then you'll want to spend at least 3 hours in the park and close to twice that if you take the Roaring Camp train. Then because of afternoon traffic maybe 1.5-2 hours to Camel, so arriving in the late afternoon. Then you plan on leaving first thing the next morning - no time to see or do anything at all in Monterey or Carmel . . . no Mission, no Monterey Bay Aquarium, no Point Lobos (a must IMO). Then Carmel, through Big Sur, to Hearst Castle and to Morro Bay is a 3.5 hour drive plus stops -- so is an all day trip (assuming Hearst Castle is open but even if its still closed, you'll want several hours for the Big Sur coast/parks)

Hearst Castle is reopening on May 11. Reservations can be made beginning March 31. It will not be open in April.

This isn't right, it's $30 (for a week, all national parks are priced per week).

17.4. LV - hoover dam - route 66 - Grand Canyon

I know it is a lot of driving but this day I know it is doable + we have a whole day


18.4. Grand Canyon - sleep here or someplace close

19. 4. GC (morning) to Kayenta

20.4. Kayenta to Monument Valley (Mexican Hat) - PAge

21.4. Horseshoe Bend (sunrise) and ntelope canyon noon - lake Powel to zion

22.4. Zion - Valley of fire - LV/Death Valley

23.4. Death Valley - LV

24.4. LV

25.4. LV

We want to see the parks but not do every single one of the hikes :D


26.4. Fly out LV - SF morning flight SF; SF, Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz & Chinatown
27.4. SF Golden Gate Bridge & Golden Gate Park; Lombard Street, Painted Ladies
Is it better to travel in SF by public transport and rent a car when we plan to go down to LA? or before?

or the other way around? do we need a car for SF or is public transport sufficient?

OK, we know it is not ideal.
And we also don't know how it is there, but did a lot of reading and saw itineraries from bloggers etc.

Next time... no idea when will that be ... so only 2 days in SF will have to be enough ...
We also don't want to see everything there is - museum or winery or ... but something.
There were some saying you need 2 days and some saying you need 14. And they are both right. We would like to know, what we can do in the time that we have. No hard feelings to anyone and all suggestions are considered.


28.4. SF - Henry Cowel (1.5h) - Monterey (1h) - Carmel-by-the-Sea (15min)
Henry cowel - short walk to see the redwoods.

29.4. CBS - Big Sur (2h+) - Morro Bay
This day will be for driving and scenery stops. We can sleep in other town if you think it would be better.

30.4. Morro Bay - Pismo beach - Santa Barbara
Pismo beach? no idea to be honest, it was on every itinerary so we decided to add it to the list

1.5. Santa Barbara - Venice Beach (2h, 85 milj) or LA??

2.5. morning in LA; walk of fame, holywood sign, FLY out at 5:30pm

Walk of Fame will take 30 minutes and you can see the Hollywood sign from the view deck of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center (a good place for low cost parking).

May 1 is a Sunday and it will take a lot longer than 2 hours to drive back from Santa Barbara since that is a favorite weekend getaway from many from Los Angeles for a long weekend so you will have traffic unless you leave early. Venice Beach - only if the homeless have not moved back, Santa Monica is better to visit, or maybe one of the South Bay beach cities like Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach or Redondo Beach. The latter don't get the write ups in guide books for overseas tourists but are very chill places for bike riding, beach volleyball, surfing, etc.

It’s not a matter of doing “all the hikes,” it’s a matter of doing even one. Break down each day here hour by hour. Which hike you are doing in Zion, Valley of Fire and Death Valley? Which hours of the day is that going to happen? You don’t have time for any hikes.

The homeless encampments are back in Venice Beach. (I don't think they were "gone" for more than a few days.) There are also many encampments on Hollywood Boulevard (Walk of Fame). People who don't live here have no idea how widespread the homeless crisis is.

The Hollywood sign is visible from many, many places all over the city. Even from LAX.

You can follow the itineraries of any number of bloggers and so-called "influencers" you find on the internet (who are often compensated for mentioning specific places/hotels/restaurants/etc.), or you can take the advice of people who live here. Your choice. California is the size of many countries with as many things to see/do as countries offer. You won't run out of attractions anywhere in the very brief amount of time you have, but only you can decide what's most important to you and how you want to allocate your time. For example, I'd rather spend time at the Monterey Aquarium than SF Fisherman's Wharf and go whale-watching in Monterey Bay than visit Alcatraz. But that would be my trip and not yours.

You should look into lodging options ASAP for all your stops. Because kids are out of school around Easter, many families take road trips. Lots of hotels on the coast have minimum night stays between Thursday or Friday and Sunday.

I'm very glad that I got my America the Beautiful Senior Pass for only $10 soon after my 65th birthday. It is good for my lifetime. The last time that I went to Death Valley there were no entrance stations. On that visit I drove the one way Artist loop and toward the end I saw someone who had been injured flipping his motorcycle upside down. Since there was no cell service in that area, I drove many miles to the visitor center to inform the rangers to get an ambulance out there.

There are credit card operated pay kiosks at either end, really it’s run under an honor system. I think you would have to show your lifetime pass at the visitor center to get a no cost receipt to tape to the windshield.

Death Valley operates a lot like a Canadian national park, you can drive through on the main highway and not pay, but parking and scenic drives like the Artist’s Palette require a tag. Canadian parks charge by the day though, American parks you always get a week.

I leave the lifetime pass hanging from the rear view mirror.

I don't think Death Valley have enough staff to check, though.

I don't usually say 'that's too ambitious" but this one is. Even the revised one. If you actually want to do ANY hike, factor in 1 to two hours to enter and leave each park (backup at the entrances, finding parking, taking a shuttle are typical). Bear in mind that Google Maps often only gives you the time to reach the park entrance. You need a much more detailed timeline to get any realistic sense of what you will be able to do. Don't forget since you are apparently moving hotels nearly every night on the road trip, that you can't check in until 3 or 4pm most of the time, and that will take time even if you just drop your bags and run to the park. You need to show a driver's license or Passport, sign a form, and have your credit card swiped even if you have prepaid. During busy travel periods you may have to wait behind a few other guests.

Kayenta is ugly. It is shocking when you enter the reservation after being in National Park lands. Pony up for lodging at Monument Valley.
I stayed in Kayenta once when I came down with a brutal cold during a trip. IIRC I made it all the way back to Scottsdale the next day.

Flagstaff and Williams aren't bad places to stay, but they will add drive time. So try to get into the Park lodging (Maswick or Yavapai). For Zion, spend a night in Springdale. Kanab is a good location about 90 minutes from Zion and Bryce.

Wow, I though I traveled fast. I know you just want to 'catch a glimpse of" these places but you likely won't even be able to do that. This trip is in April? Think about what time it gets dark.

Several of the things you suggest are not going to be doable due to the fact you are already too late to get reservations. Have you checked to see if there are any vacancies in the Grand Canyon. It books up way in advance and while there are cancellations sometimes you need a plan B and there aren't many hotel rooms within a short distance of the park. Antelope canyon requires advance reservations. I don't know where you put in as the destination for Death Valley but it's not ONE place - it's huge and just driving through it takes hours, not to mention getting to and from LV. If you wanted to stay one night in the park you'd need reservations which I'm almost positive you won't be able to get at this time. Before you go any further in your planning I'd check into lodging possibilities. (And see if you can get a reservation for Antelope Canyon - noon is the most popular time and books up way in advance).

I don't know if the OP is still reading or planning, but I can speak to 2 legs of the trip...

The drive from Monterey to Hearst Castle on PCH. We did this in Sept 2019 and you need to at least add 50% of the time you think you need. We thought we'd just drive it but we ended up getting out at almost every turn off to take in the views (this is really nice for whomever is driving, who can't properly pay attention to both the road and the view) and also there were minor road works along the way that narrowed the route to 1 lane, so there was some waiting involved while one lane was passing through. All we did on this day was start out at 8:30 am leaving Monterey, drive the 17 Mile Drive and then head to Hearst Castle, figuring we'd get there just after lunch, but between the road works and all our stopping we didn't hit the sea lions at San Simeon until almost 4 p.m.

You are also short-changing Valley of Fire big time. We visited that last September, and even in 114 degree heat, we still wanted to walk some of the trails and not just drive through the route without stopping. This was a 4 hour time investment, easily. It would be a shame not to stop and appreciate more leisurely. And bring water, sunblock and a hat!!

Vacancies at Grand Canyon?
We do have our accommodation booked for the Grand Canyon and we will have American National Pass.

We do have an Antelope Canyon booking already.

thank you!

We know that Big sur day will be long.
do you think that whale watching is worth it?

we did plan the Hearst Castle but it will be closed when we are there.

We revised our route a bit more
16.4. night in LV
17.4. - 1 day trip death valley - night in LV
18.4. - hoover dam and route 66 to GC - night in GC (booked)
19.4. - GC and drive to monument valley
20.4. - monument valley - night in Page
21.4. - horseshoe bend and antelope canyon (booked) - night zion
22.4. - zion - night zion
23.4. - valley of fire - night LV

Spring is a very good time for whale watching in Monterey Bay. Be aware that you can feel a lot of motion even on calm days so if either of you is prone to motion sickness, I'd take something before hand. It can also feel very cold out on the water so bring extra layers. If you decide to do it, I would do it on your SF to Carmel day and skip Henry Cowell due to time (you can see redwoods at Pfeiffer Big Sur the following day). Whale watch boats depart from Moss Landing Harbor halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey or Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey.

We are avid whale watchers here in MA. We go out a few times a month in season. It is bumpier in Monterey Bay, more because it’s far more exposed to open ocean than it is here on Stellwagen Bank off MA. But nothing we couldn’t handle either. I would say the humpback sightings are on par with what we see here regularly, the dolphins we saw pods in the hundreds which was phenomenal. The biggest draw though is the blue whales, which we were fortunate enough to find a pod of six together, and got to ride right along side them. Blues are the largest mammals on earth and almost double the size of humpbacks. It was truly the whale watch of a lifetime. Monterey Bay is known for being one of the best whale watching spots in the world. Each season offers opportunities to see different species. Gray whales, orcas, humpbacks and blues depending on when you go.

Your Big Sur day won’t just be “long” but you may not be factoring in being able to do anything else that day. We fully expected to make it to Hearst Castle and see it at the end of the day, but instead took in the views and had to decide to scrap HC in order to leisurely drive and enjoy Big Sur.

I feel whale watching can be done many places so since not unique to the US I would skip it.

Note that there is a large dam in Page (same height as Hoover but wider) with free tours and no crowds. Hoover dam is very busy and the tours are expensive and short and it has the feel of a train station it’s so packed with people.

Pfeiffer Big Sur redwoods are not so big compared to ones farther north, so I would try for the state park recommended. Better than Pfeiffer and free are the redwoods along Palo Colorado Rd not very far south of Carmel.

thank you Tom!

We are thinking of Page dam after our Antelope canyon tour :) before we drive to Zion.

So which redwood would you suggest then? Henry covel, Pfeiffer or Palo Colorado?

I also have Q about SF?

What would be the most optimal way for sightseeing and places to Stay?
we wont have a car for 2 days in SF.

I was thinking of staying somewhere like Union Square or Embarcadero?
So we have access with public transport and BART?

Also, it is OK to visit Fishermans Wharf, Alcatraz and pier 39 on the 26.,
and then Golden gate park, painted ladies on the 27th? or should we switch it?

Thank you!

We are aware :/

If only we would be given a gift of time :)
I know how things are, I am tour guide and I tell people the same when they come to Europe and try to see everything :)
so I do get them, to want to see as much as possible, but you could just never see it like someone living close by.

I also have Q about SF?

What would be the most optimal way for sightseeing and places to Stay?
we wont have a car for 2 days in SF.

I was thinking of staying somewhere like Union Square or Embarcadero?
So we have access with public transport and BART?

Also, it is OK to visit Fishermans Wharf, Alcatraz and pier 39 on the 26.,
and then Golden gate park, painted ladies on the 27th? or should we switch it?

​​​​​​​Thank you!

*I feel whale watching can be done many places so since not unique to the US I would skip it*

If however, anyone reading this is interested in going on a whale watch with a high diversity of species and highest likelihood of extraordinary sightings as compared to "many places", Monterey Bay is one of the best places in the world for it. This is not hyperbole. I would not skip it especially if I have little to no chance of doing it elsewhere in my travels or if I have an interest in oceanic wildlife.

If you're looking to do a short walk, I think both Henry Cowell and Pfeiffer Big Sur are good options to see some larger trees. At Henry Cowell there's a short loop around an old growth grove The Redwood Grove Loop Trail At Pfeiffer Big Sur the old growth trees are right at the entrance around the lodge and there's a short boardwalk Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

Palo Colorado is a narrow residential road that's currently open for about 4 miles. The road and the parks located beyond that, Mill Creek and Botchers Gap, are still closed due to previous fires and flooding. Palo Colorado Rd goes through a redwood forest but if you want to walk around redwoods I think Henry Cowell or Pfeiffer Big Sur are better options.

Highway 1 itself goes through a redwood forest as it cuts inland for several miles after Andrew Molera. This is the Big Sur Village area where most of the restaurants, accommodations and shops along the route between Carmel and Cambria are located Attachment 6573

For California state parks you can show your same day receipt at another park so you don't have to pay for day use parking multiple times on the same day. This excludes the federal beach areas like Pfeiffer Beach, Sand Dollar and Willow Creek in Big Sur. You'll have to pay separately for those.

II haven’t visited henry cowell state park but I think that would be the better of the 3. Generally the farther north you are the larger the redwood tree.

Palo Colorado Rd is worth driving along 1 km for the redwoods and “wild” houses, 7 minutes, quick. There’s a small grove near the entrance of Pfeiffer. Recalling now there’s a short walk along a stream with redwoods that’s okay too.